March 2025

One Year Anniversary
Marin City News just celebrated its one year anniversary with its first edition being released February 2024. Check out the first one here.

March 9th and 23rd - “I’m Every Woman: It’s All On Me”

March 9th MC Arts Gallery's Re-Grand Opening Gala!
Sunday March 9th 3:30-8:30

100 Donahue Ave

Suite 190 B

Sausalito, Ca 94965

In the Marin Gateway Shopping Center

www.mcartsandculture.com

Women's History Month
March is Women’s History Month and of course it’s impossible to highlight all those who have contributed to America’s history and the world’s history, so we’ve decided to pick women who are lesser known, but have made life changing contributions to society around the world in a variety of ways. Women like Oprah, Beyoncé, and Serena Williams are known around the world for their accomplishments and how they have opened the door as role models for other women, especially those of color, but read about the amazing work these women, you might not have heard of, helped shape our modern world. There are some you may have heard of, but you might not know the full extent of their contributions or accomplishments. Most were the first women or the first black women to accomplish what they have, paving the way for others to dare to dream big.

Mary McLeod Bethune 1875 – 1955 was an American educator, philanthropist, humanitarian and Civil Rights activist. Bethune founded the National Council of Negro Women in 1935, established the organization's flagship journal Aframerican Women's Journal, and presided over myriad African-American women's organizations including the National Association for Colored Women and the National Youth Administration’s Negro Division.

She started a private school for African-American students which later became Bethune-Cookman University. She was the sole African American woman officially a part of the US delegation that created the United Nations charter. After working on the presidential campaign for Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1932, she was appointed as a national advisor and worked with Roosevelt to create the Federal Council on Colored Affairs, also known as the Black Cabinet, where she became close friends and allies with Eleanor Roosevelt. In 1974, a statue was erected as "the first monument to honor an African American and a woman in a public park in Washington, D.C."

Kamora Freeland 2008-became the youngest AA women pilot in 2024 at 16 yeas old and started college as a sophomore, because she completed all of her prerequisite classes in high school. Read more about Kamora here.

Bessie Coleman 1892-1926 First AA/Native American pilot. First black pilot to earn international pilot’s license. A Texas native, Bessie Coleman dreamt of flying planes. However, as a Black woman in the 1920s, getting her pilot's license in the U.S. was nothing short of impossible. That didn't stop the would-be aviator who, in the face of adversity, learned to speak French, then left to train in France, where Black people were permitted to become aviators. Within seven months, Coleman officially became a pilot, making her the first Black woman to do so. However, flying wasn't enough for Coleman, who also wanted to perform stunts. After training with the German military aces, Coleman successfully became a "barnstormer," or pilot who did stunts at airshows. Tragically, Coleman died in an air accident in 1926 at the age of 34. Read more about Bessie here.

Lucille Désirée Ball 1911-1989 Yes, actress and comedian Lucille Ball. She was more than an actress though. In 1962, she became the first woman to run a major television studio, Desilu Productions, which produced many popular television series, including Mission: Impossible and Star Trek. When other studios were not interested in a sci-fi tv series, Lucille Ball had the vision to put Star Trek on the air and it would change tv forever. Ball was recognized by Time Magazine in 2020 as one of the most influential women of the 20th century for her work as an actress, comedian, producer, and studio executive. She was nominated for 13 Primetime Emmy Awards, winning five and was the recipient of many other awards, such as the Golden Globe Award and two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.  What she did though, was even more than she expected when she brought Star Trek to the masses. Continue reading to learn more.

Nichelle Nichols Actress 1932-2022 Nichols portrayed Uhura on Star Trek and its film sequels, which was groundbreaking for AA actresses on American television. From 1977 to 2015, she volunteered her time to promote NASA’s programs and recruit diverse astronauts, including some of the first female astronauts, such as Mae Jemison.

Mae Jemison-Astronaut 1956- Was one of the young students inspired by Nichols and the character of Uhura. She became an engineer, a doctor, a NASA astronaut and a college professor. She became the first AA woman to travel into space when she served as a mission specialist aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour in 1992. Jemison joined NASA's astronaut corps in 1987 and was selected to serve for the STS-47 mission, during which the Endeavour orbited the Earth for nearly eight days on September 12–20, 1992.She was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame and the International Space Hall of Fame.

Jemison was an inspiration to many young black women, who would pursue careers in STEM fields after seeing the success of the first black woman in space, including the future astronaut, Dr. Jessica Watkins, who was selected as a NASA astronaut in 2017. She most recently served as the flight engineer onboard the International Space Station as part of Expedition 67 and 68. Just like those before her, Watkins is inspiring future young black students, who aspire to travel in space. So, Lucille Ball brought Star Trek to public television, the Star Trek character of Uhura inspired Mae Jemison to become an astronaut, Jemison inspired Jessica Watkins to become an astronaut, and Watkins continues to inspire other young black women to be astronauts. Sometimes kids just need to see someone that looks like them, to aspire to do great things.\

Katherine Johnson 1918-2020 was an American mathematician whose calculations of orbital mechanics as a NASA employee were critical to the success of the first and subsequent U.S. crewed spaceflights. She was portrayed by Teraji P. Henson in the award-winning movie, Hidden Figures alongside stars such as Kevin Costner and Octavia Spencer. During her 33-year career at NASA she earned a reputation for mastering complex manual calculations and helped pioneer the use of computers to perform the tasks. She and her colleagues were called “computers” as their job titles. The space agency noted her "historical role as one of the first African-American women to work as a NASA scientist".

Johnson in 1983

Marilyn Hughes Gaston, MD.  1939-She is the first African American woman to direct a Public Health Service Bureau and only the second African American woman to achieve the position of Assistant Surgeon General and rank of Rear Admiral in the US Public Health Service.  As Director of the Bureau of Primary Health Care in Health Resources and Services Administration, Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), she was responsible for a budget of $5 Billion serving 12 million poor, underserved and disadvantaged people in our Nation. Gaston has been honored with every award that the Public Health Service bestows.

Patricia Era Bath, MD. 1942-2019 was an American ophthalmologist and humanitarian. She became the first female member of the Jules Stein Eye Institute, the first woman to lead a post-graduate training program in ophthalmology, and the first woman elected to the honorary staff of the UCLA Medical Center. Bath was the first AA to serve as a resident in ophthalmology at New York University. She was also the first AA woman to serve on staff as a surgeon at the UCLA Medical Center. Bath was the first AA woman doctor to receive a patent for a medical purpose. A holder of five patents. She founded the non-profit American Institute for the Prevention of Blindness in Washington, D.C.

Alexa Irene Canady, MD. In 1981, she became the first black neurosurgeon in the United States, and just a few years later, she rose to the ranks of chief of neurosurgery at Children’s Hospital of Michigan.

Marian Rogers Croak 1955- is an American engineer known for her voice over IP (VoIP) related inventions. Croak worked for three decades at Bell Labs and AT&T, where she filed over 200 patents and has worked at Google since 2014, where she is Vice President of Engineering, In 2022, she was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame for her work with VoIP. She also led a team that developed text-to-donate technology that we commonly use today.

Fun fact: Maya Angelou, the well-known writer, was also the first female black cable car operator in SF in 1944 at 17 years old.

Harriet Tubman-Underground railroad, helping slaves escape to freedom in the north.

Rosa Parks who wouldn’t move to the back of the bus and inspired a boycott of the city public transportation service and helped start the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s.

And then there are the local Marin City legends and hero’s, who have made the Marin City community a better place to live, raise a family, and achieve the American dream. Bettie Hodges, Royce McLemore, Florence Williams, Terrie Green, Felecia Gaston, Ebony Mckinley, Ida Times, Juanita Edwards, Juanita Douglas, Maralisia Mack, Marilyn Mackel, Oshalla Diana-Marcus, Alexis Wise, Nancy Johnson, and more amazing women who are committed leaders and make Marin City the special community it is.

March 8th Saturday Come to the Table on immigration.
“Securing home for our neighbors: Meeting challenges of immigration in the time of changes.”This will be a night of stories, resistance, and support. Leaders in the field of immigration justice will discuss how immigrants and advocates of the immigrant population can navigate the current situation in the county and around the country. Experts will point out the rights that immigrants and organizations have when confronted by ICE agents and other law enforcement agencies. Go to www.ctttmarin.org to learn more and to sign up for the forum that takes place at St. Andrew Presbyterian Church of Marin City 7:00-8:30.